Originally Posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/monstrous-mondays-monster-manual-ii-30.html

The Monster Manual II for the 3.0 version of 3rd Edition appeared in 2002, just before the big transition to 3.5. Like its namesake from 1st Edition, this MMII brings us some new monsters, but it also gives us a number of updated old favorites.

Monster Manual II (3.0)

For this review, I am considering both the PDF from DriveThruRPG and the hardcover version I bought back in the early 2000s.

In the the 2 years since the Monster Manual was printed the designers of the 3rd Edition game had gotten a lot of feedback from players and also have seen the designs that other monster books have been able to do. They knew what the players and the DMs were saying about monsters. So the MMII has two overt purposes. The first, and the obvious one, is give us more monsters to use in out games. The second, and likely more helpful one, is to help clarify how the monster stat blocks are used and can be altered. I want to discuss the second one first.

The first section of the book covers the monster stat blocks. How to read them and what sorts of details you are likely to find in them. This is largely similar to the list to the MMI but there are a lot of additions, like the table of typic creature damage types by type and size. Each creature type is broken down into what makes that type different than the other types with much more detail than in the MMI.

There are new guidelines on advancing monsters. This really is the reason to get this book. It expands greatly on the rules and lets you know how to do it with an example.

On the back side of the book, there are also new templates to apply to monsters to make other monsters.

In the middle, we have the reason that most people pick up the book, the monsters. There are over 130 monsters listed here and some are new, others are old favorites.

We get some 1st Ed. MM1 favorites like the banshee, the catoblepas, the sylphs, the water weird (though now expanded into elemental weirds), and ixitxachitls. There are a good number of Fiend Folio monsters too in the hook horror, grell, death knight (as a template), meenlock, dune stalker, Son of Kyuss, and needleman er needlefolk.

The Daemons return, but this time they keep their 2nd Edition name of Yugoloths. Actually, I am good with that. Yugoloth always was cooler sounding than daemon anyway. There are more demons and devils too and even some weird Lovecraftian beasts like the Moon Beast and more.

This addition to the Monster Manual line feels like it was more completing the MMI than it was a second book. I consider it a must-have book for any 3.x DM with even a slight interest in monsters.

The art is great throughout and you can see the design is leaning into what will become known as "dungeon punk" later on.

Is this one of my favorite monster books? No. But it is a great work-horse book that has great designer information and a few really great monsters on top of that.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/monstrous-mondays-d-3rd-edition-monster.html

It is the year 2000. We don't have flying cars, but I have a brand new baby, and Wizards of the Coast, the brand new owners of Dungeons & Dragons are putting out their new 3rd Edition material. The Monster Manual was the last of the three core rule books.

For today I am going to consider the 3.0 and the 3.5 versions of the Monster Manuals. I am also considering the Print and PDF versions from DriveThruRPG.

Monster Manual 3rd Edition

3.5 324 pages. 425 monsters.

More so than the AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendiums or Manual this book felt like the Monster Manual of old.

It was the start of the new millennium (almost) and we all survived Y2K. I had been moving away from D&D for some time by this point and this was the edition that brought me back. I do sometimes still get the urge to play 3.x and this book is one of those reasons.

The art budget for D&D (no more "Advanced") was heavily increased. Art that would have been chosen for cover art for products in the 1990s now joins several more just like for interior art. Every monster in illustrated in full color now and the book itself is a work of art.

Inside are all the favorites and many new ones to boot. Demons and Devils are back AS Demons and Devils, although they also retain their bowdlerized names of Tanar'ri and Baatezu respectively. This works out to Wizards of the Coast's advantage since now those names can be considered Product Identity under the newly formed OGL. Sure other publishers can, and do (and boy do they!), talk about demons, but Tanar'i are off-limits.

What is special about this book, and 3.x in general, is now monsters are built using the same rules as characters. They have the same abilities, a great wyrm blue dragon has a strength of 39, and built like characters are with the same skills and the new feat system. So that same ancient blue dragon can have a fly-by attack feat. I can't say everything is perfect, but it is certainly better than the catch as catch can abilities of AD&D where a Will-O-the-wisp can has ridiculous stats.

The implication is here is that some monsters could even be characters. For a crazy example take the Skum (p.229). It has 2d8+2 HD. At the bottom of the stat block is a "Level Adjustment" of +3. Skum start out at 3rd level but still 0 XP. Once they gain enough to get to 4th level they can advance. Usually, there is a preferred class listed, but almost everything can advance as a fighter.

Creatures also get a different hit die based on their type. Faeries get a d6 while undead gets a d12. Type is very important here.

There are also templates which is a great idea. Have a 14th-level fighter who is changed into a vampire? Well in older forms of D&D he would have gone down to the HD of a vampire. In 3.x he is now 14th level (yeah level drain is gone, more or less) and you add vampire abilities on top. It was something hinted at with Ravenloft, now it is part of the rules.

I mentioned the art, it is great though there are some changes between the 3.0 and 3.5 versions.

In fact, there are some monsters not illustrated in the 3.0 version that do get illustrations in the 3.5.

It is really a great resource. My one complaint is that the one monster per page layout is gone. This does conserve space and makes the book smaller, I just had gotten used to the format with 2nd Ed. 4th Ed would bring it back.

I have very fond memories of this book. My oldest son as a small child would spend hours flipping through it, just like I had done with the original Monster Manual.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/100-days-of-halloween-witches-and-bats.html

Halloween is coming...in a couple of months, but you are going to need to be ready and here is something to help with that.

Witches and Bats

These papercraft minis to print and cut out. You get 6 wicked witches, 4 giant bats and 1 small bat swarm. There is a preview on the DriveThruRPG page.

I do not own a Silhouette/Craftrobo cutter, I just printed them out on a laser printer and made little stands for them. I use them as part of a village of witches. My kids have learned that "paper minis" are NPCs that don't interact much while "plastic minis" are main NPCs. So of course they want to talk to all the paper minis! At least these ones are interesting.

Do I use these with my War of the Witch Queens? Absolutely. I need a lot of witches to populate the Tredicim (the gathering of Witches) and these are great to fill out the ranks.

I mix them with Ghostly Spirits, Demons, Devils and Imps, Scarecrows and Jack-O-Lanterns (a favorite), Evil Cultists, and Gothic Statues for a full-on Halloween Village feel.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/100-days-of-halloween-1000000-witches.html

10,000 Witches

PDF, 1 page, no art. $1.50.

Another one of Lee's Lists products. This one features two d100 tables, one of names and the other of titles or honorifics. So a roll of 23 and 85 produces "Isadora the Bald."

What it lacks in length it makes up for in versatility. You can in fact create 10,000 different witches here.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/100-days-of-halloween-1000000-witches.html

100 Witches

PDF. 19 pages. Color cover and pages. Black & white art. $1.99.

This book has 100 different witches with names and a paragraph for their background. Need a quick NPC witch? Roll a d100 and you will have one. There are no stat blocks, just the names and backgrounds. But that is exactly what they adveritse, so we are in great shape really.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/100-days-of-halloween-advancing-with.html

Advancing with Class: The Witch

PDF. 27 pages. 1 cover, title page, back cover, 1 ad, 2 pages of ogl. 22 pages of content.

This book has a bunch of new material for the Pathfinder 1st Ed. Witch class.

There are five new Patron themes (with patron spells listed); Arcane Patron, Courtly Fey Patron, Nature Fey Patron, Summer Patron, and Whimsy Patron.

There are 54 new hexes in four categories along with the general, major and grand hexes.

The 17 new feats are interesting since I do like to play with the idea that witches are almost a different type of human. So there are lot of "blood" nature feats.

The witch Archetypes give you different roleplaying ideas, with some mechanical advantages. We have the Eldritch Witch, Fey Touched Witch, Harrowed Harlequin, Madness Matriarch, Mystic Astrologer, Occult Scholar, and Shadow Mistress.

There are also three NPC witches using them material above.

There are certainly some great ideas here and some archetypes I'd love to try out.

The layout is ok. The font is very readable, but the blue boarder seems unnecessary. The art is a bit of a mixed bag. But for just under $3.50 it's a good deal.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/08/100-days-of-halloween-witch-archetype.html

Witch Archetype Sampler

From Knotty Works. PDF. 6 pages; 1 cover, 1 title page, 1 page OGL, 1 back cover. So two pages of content. The price is PWYW with a suggested price of $0.

This book is essentially an ad for Advancing with Class: The Witch. This is not a bad thing. I think I'll have a look at that one later.

This free file includes three witch archetypes; Abyssal Bound Witch, the Infernal Bound Witch and the Tribal Witch. They all do about what they sound like. There are some new powers and suggestions for hexes the witches can take.

Seriously though while these are "easy" archetypes to do (Demon and Devil worshipers) they are still quite good and worth the minimal effort needed to take download them.

Originally Posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/07/100-days-of-halloween-charmbrewer-witch.html

Class Expansions: The Charmbrewer Witch Archetype

This PDF is 5 pages; 1 for the cover and 1 for the OGL. $1.25.

This is a class archetype. This one mixes the witch with a bit of the alchemist. She exchanges some of her hex ability for a connection to a cauldron.

With this cauldron, she can brew potions and elixirs. She gets two new hexes and 21 elixirs they can brew. These elixirs take the place of hexes and the witch can gain them at various levels.

The concept of a witch using a cauldron is a powerful one and this one is well executed.

I rather like it to be honest. The price is rather nice as well.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/07/100-days-of-halloween-strange-magic.html

Written and art by Stuart Robertson, PDF. 6 pages, $1. This does not included a front a cover and a back cover so it is 6 pages of content or 8 pages total.

Designed explicitly for B/X D&D and not a clone this book is designed to be printed at home. The six classes include, Bard, Monk/Assassin, Order of Stellar Reason, Paladin/Anti-Paladin, Reverend Sisterhood, and the Witch.

Each class gets one page. The classes presented here are called "sub-classes" so the Witch is a Cleric sub-class. She would use all the same tables as the cleric does in B/X. She adds her Charisma mod to to her armor class and saving throws (so I would say an aura of protection) and can brew potions. The other classes are similar and could be fun.

For a buck I was not expecting a lot and that is fine. There are certainly some fun ideas here and I am sure I could use them somewhere. It certainly fits into the feel of B/X's simplicity and is similar enough to how BECMI handles "sub-classes."

No OGL, but the execution is simple enough to adapt ideas.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/07/100-days-of-halloween-10-witch-magic.html

Pathfinder gave us a great witch class for their 1st Edition game (and 2nd Edition too) and there was plenty of 3rd party support for it. Here is one of many of those products.

10 Witch Magic Items

What it says on the label. PDF. 11 pages, $0.99. Color art throughout.

This PDF is 11 pages, but one is for the cover, one for the title, one for the OGL, and two for ads. This gives us five pages of content.

Inside are 10 items of various levels of power.

• Opportunistic Hex weapon special ability (inflicts an offensive hex as part of an attack of opportunity, and reminds folks why they fear witches!)
• Amulet of the Witch (Use a hex as a swift action and take your foes by surprise without wasting an action.)
• Boots of the Beldam (When someone looks away you disappear, maintaining your air of the mysterious mistress of the dark arts)
• Circlet of the Crone (Gain or enhance three of the witch's most vile hexes and maintain that sinister reputation that witches possess.)
• Familiar Figurine (Your familiar can become a figurine of wondrous power and become an animal companion for a short time, and show why a familiar is so important to a witch.)
• Habiliment of the Harridan (Inflict a curse upon a creature that fails a save against your spells, adding an additional effect without losing an action.)
• Patron’s Sark (Make it easier to enhance your patron spells with metamagic feats, and show off the value of your patron over other forms of spellcasting)
• Ring of the Virago (Use your spirit to take control of any other creature with the help of your familiar, and remind folks why you have such a sinister reputation.)
• Talon Gloves (Your nails become dangerous weapons, more so if you already possess that hex, giving you a weapon on par with the warrior’s mightiest sword).
• "The Fragment of Witchery" Legacy Item (Let your magic item level up with you, and provide you with a reason why the world around you will suffer a witch to live!)

So it kind of packs a punch really and really keyed to the Pathfinder witch class. I would certainly try to convert any or all of these for use with other witches I have made and I think I can find a place for them in my War of the Witch Queens campaign.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/07/100-days-of-halloween-class-expansions.html

Pathfinder gave us a really fun witch class. I was very pleased with a lot of the material that came out to support it.

Hexes are to Pathfinder witches as Occult Powers are to my witches and invocations are to D&D warlocks.

Class Expansions: Witch Major Hexes

This PDF is four pages, 1 for cover, 1 for OGL statement, 2 for content. Price is $1.00. So 25 cents per page, or 50 cents per page of content.

Aside. When judging these prices I should include a minmum and then adjust from there. I could be $1 is the minimum.

This file includes an appropriate 13 Major Hexes for Pathfinder 1st Edition Witches. They are of a good varieity and many very useful ones. The various "Vision" Hexes are quite nice in fact.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/07/100-days-of-halloween-class-expansions.html

Pathfinder gave us a really fun witch class. I was very pleased with a lot of the material that came out to support it.

Hexes are to Pathfinder witches as Occult Powers are to my witches and invocations are to D&D warlocks.

Class Expansions: Witch Hexes [PFRPG]

This PDF is four pages, 1 for cover, 1 for OGL statement, 2 for content. Price is $1.00. So 25 cents per page, or 50 cents per page of content. Still, one buck is still cheap.

Ther are 12 witch Hexes presented here.

There are some really nice thematic hexes here like Broom-a-mancy (which is not a thing but really works well here) to "Suffer the Slings and Arrows."

They are all quite fun.

PDF. 5 pages. $1.25. 1 page for cover, 1 page for Preface/Table of Contents, 1 page for the OGL. 2 pages of content.

This file has seven witch feats presented in the traditional manner for the Pathfinder 1st Edition RPG. There are some interesting ones here too. The Stable Spell gives the witch more control over the damage she can do while Unstable Spell adds some randomness. Aura of Menace should be taken by all witches I think!

Certainly some fun ideas here.

5 pages, PWYW, suggested $1.00. No cover. No OGL.

This one is oddly presented and I had to go back and make sure I had the right file. But once I got into it then yes it is the right PDF. The cover to the right is not in the file (as a cover) and it jumps right into the content. The art takes up half of every page, so not really 5 pages, but 2.5 pages of content (more like 2). The art is good, very visually striking and I like it (our cover girl here is on page 4 for the Witch Brew), but there is one of what looks like a young girl in Civil War-era Union uniform with a rat familiar. It is good and I rather like it, but it looks very out of place, to be honest.

While presented as feats, these are really patron pacts. So you get these if you take the feat. The text is mostly fluff. The advantage to this is you could use them with Pathfinder 2nd Ed or D&D 5th Ed warlocks too. It's just not what I thought it might be.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/07/monstrous-mondays-d-4e-monster-vaults.html

When 2010 rolled around it was becoming obvious that 4e was not going to sell as well as previous versions of D&D. It still sold well, but it was not hitting the number that WotC and Hasbro wanted. Since the old adage was "Core Books sell better" the 4e team reintroduced the D&D 4th edition game with the 4e Essentials line. While no a new edition really, it was designed to make the 4e game a bit easier to play and run and make it more like old editions of the game.

It was not quite successful but it did re-interest me in the game after playing 4e for a bit and then drifting off to Pathfinder.

One of the "interesting" changes in 4e Essentials was the shift of the "Monster Manual" to the "Monster Vault."

They were called these since the first Essentials Monster book was a boxed set with the digest-sized book and monster tokens for all the creatures in the book. Nice touch for a mini-focused game.

Dungeons & Dragons Essentials: Monster Vault (4e)

PDF (and softcover). 320 pages, full color. No PoD option on DriveThruRPG at this time. $8.99 for PDF.

Released in the later part of 2010 this book was part of the Essentials transition line to help "save" D&D 4e.

The monster book of the D&D 4e Essentials line covered a number of monsters already present in the D&D 4e Monster Manuals. I'll get to that part in a bit.

The product came in a box, much like the Essentials DM's kit. Along with the digest-sized book, there were a bunch of tokens for all the creatures, a fold-out map of a dungeon/wilderness area (for the "Cairn of the Winter King" included adventure), and even some NPC/PC tokens. The tokens also featured rings to make a monster go up a size. So a large creature could be upgraded to huge for example. The PDF of this book includes the maps and tokens to print out.

The book format largely followed that of the previous monster books but presented in the Essentials style. Of course, you could use 4e and Essentials material interchangeably and the monster books are the best example of this. An effort was made not just to repeat monsters and stat blocks from the previous books. For example, the Monster Manual has an Orc entry and features the Orc Drudge (L4), Orc Warrior (L9), Orc Raider (L3), Orc Berserker (L4), Orc Eye of Gruumsh (L5), Orc Bloodrager (L7) and Orc Chieftan (L8). The Monster Vault has Battletest Orc (L3), Orc Savage (L4), Orc Archer (L4), Orc Reaver (L5), Orc Rampager (L6), Orc Pummeler (L6) and Orc Storm Shaman (L6). The art in the book is replicated on the tokens. Each token is also used as an "icon" in each entry.

There are 64 major monster entries, including Animals, here with anywhere from 1 or 2 to as many as 8 sub entries under each. Orcs have 7, demons have 7 and even displacer beasts have 3. This gives us just over 300 monsters.

I don't personally feel that the Monster Vault was designed to replace the Monster Manuals. After all the "named" demons like Orcus, Demogorgon and Lolth never appear in the Essentials Monster books. Though there is naturally some overlap, but it is nowhere near what you saw in the Monster Manuals for 3.0 to 3.5 or even the Monstrous Compendiums of 2e to the Monstrous Manual. I felt they were designed to be more complimentary.

The Essentials Line

Back when it was new in 2010 I spent some time talking about the D&D Essentials line and how it was what 4e should have been from the start.

I feel there is still a good game in here. I might need to delve a bit deeper and even get an Essentials game going sometime. There is still a lot of fun to be had here I think.